--- title: "St John's Hospital Bruges: Memling, hours | Karel de Stoute" url: https://www.chocolatehotel.be/en/bruges/st-johns-hospital description: "One of Europe's oldest hospital buildings, with seven Memling paintings and a 17th-century pharmacy: what to see, tickets (€15), hours and access." lang: en --- Image: Hans Memling's Shrine of St Ursula: a gilded reliquary shaped like a Gothic chapel, with painted arches showing ships and crowds (https://www.chocolatehotel.be/assets/guide-sint-jan-hero-DsyMqi4i.webp) Museums Stop 6 on our walk # St John's Hospital in Bruges: Memling's paintings in a medieval hospital Hans Memling, Shrine of St Ursula, about 1489, St John's Hospital, Bruges. Photo: Rainer Halama, CC0: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sint-Janshospitaal-Memling-Ursulaschrein_DSC9930.jpg St John's Hospital (Sint-Janshospitaal) is one of the oldest surviving hospital buildings in Europe, founded in the 12th century on the Mariastraat. Today it is a museum with seven paintings by Hans Memling, four of them made for the hospital itself, among them the Shrine of St Ursula. A ticket costs €15 and includes the 17th-century pharmacy; the museum is closed on Mondays. Staying in Bruges? Our nine rooms are a short walk from here. See the rooms (https://www.chocolatehotel.be/en/rooms) ## What is St John's Hospital? For more than 800 years this was where the sick of Bruges were cared for. It was founded in the 12th century and only stopped working as a hospital in 1977. The long medieval wards, the hospital church and the attic still stand, and Musea Brugge calls it "one of Europe's oldest preserved hospital buildings". The museum shows the old hospital next to its art. Besides the Memlings, it shows contemporary works by artists such as Berlinde De Bruyckere and Patricia Piccinini, placed among the old ones. ## Which Memling paintings are there? Hans Memling, born in Germany, worked in Bruges from about 1465 until his death in 1494. Seven of his works hang in St John's Hospital. Four were painted for the hospital and have been there since the late 15th century: The St John Altarpiece (1479): the large triptych of the two Saints John, painted for the hospital's high altar. John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, the hospital's patrons, stand beside the Virgin. The Shrine of St Ursula (about 1489): a small gilded reliquary in the shape of a Gothic chapel, with six painted scenes of Ursula's pilgrimage to Rome and her death in Cologne. It stands in the hospital church. The Adoration of the Magi (1479): a triptych painted for brother Jan Floreins, who is shown kneeling in it. The Lamentation of Christ: painted for brother Adriaan Reins. The other three came later: the **Diptych of Maarten van Nieuwenhove (1487)**, with the young patron praying to the Virgin on the facing panel, the **Portrait of a Young Woman (1480)**, also known as Sibylla Sambetha, and a portrait of a member of the De Rojas family. Musea Brugge holds the second largest Memling collection in the world, and this is where you see it. ## Is the pharmacy included? Yes. The hospital pharmacy was set up in 1643 and kept by nuns until 1971. Its 17th-century interior has survived, and four herb beds are left of a garden that once covered 3,000 square metres. A museum ticket includes it. The oak roof of the attic is among the oldest and largest of its kind in Europe. Up there, a hands-on space called "Closer to Memling" lets you look at the paintings with light, music and tables to explore, suggested from age seven. ## How long do you need? Musea Brugge gives no official time. As a guide, allow about an hour and a half for the wards, the Memlings, the church and the pharmacy, and two hours if you also spend time in the attic. €15 Adult ticket, pharmacy included ## Tickets and the museum card ### Ticket €15, pharmacy included. Under 26 €13, 13 to 17 €7, under 13 free. ### Pharmacy only €3, under 26 €2. ### Musea Brugge Card €49 (under 26 €37, under 18 €25), one visit to every open Musea Brugge location within 72 hours. St John's Hospital is included. ### museumPASSmusées the Belgian museum pass is valid here too. ## Opening hours Tuesday to Sunday, 9:30 to 17:00. Closed on Mondays, except Easter Monday and Whit Monday. The last entry is 30 minutes before closing. Holidays: 24 and 31 December until 16:00, closed on 25 December and 1 January, Ascension Day until 12:30. ## Accessibility, children and bags ### Access the paths inside can be used independently by wheelchair, the entrance with some help, and there is a spacious lift. A tactile model, a descriptive audio tour and sensory kits are available. ### Children under 13s enter free. Children from six can ask at the desk for a free audio tour, "Sam's secret". Pushchairs are allowed. ### Bags only hand luggage smaller than 34 × 22 cm can go in; lockers and the cloakroom are free. ## Getting there from Hotel Karel de Stoute The museum is about 15 minutes on foot from our door on Moerstraat, through the centre to the Mariastraat. On our walk through historic Bruges it is the sixth and last stop, opposite the Church of Our Lady; from there it is about 11 minutes back to the hotel. ## Frequently asked questions Is St John's Hospital open on Mondays? No, it is closed every Monday, except Easter Monday and Whit Monday. Where is the Memling Museum in Bruges? Memling's paintings in Bruges are shown in the Museum St John's Hospital (Sint-Janshospitaal) on the Mariastraat, which many people still look for as the Memling Museum. Is the Shrine of St Ursula at St John's Hospital? Yes. It stands in the hospital church, which is part of the museum visit. Is the pharmacy included in the ticket? Yes. A museum ticket includes the 17th-century pharmacy; on its own it costs €3. Is St John's Hospital included in the Musea Brugge Card? Yes, as are the Groeninge Museum, BRUSK, the Belfry, the Gruuthuse Museum and the museum part of the Church of Our Lady. Does the Groeninge Museum closing in January 2027 affect St John's Hospital? No closure has been announced for St John's Hospital. While the Groeninge is renovated, its own collection is shown at BRUSK on the Dijver from March 2027. ## More museum guides All guides (https://www.chocolatehotel.be/en/bruges#guides) - Museums ### Groeninge Museum: the Flemish masters in one visit Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling and the Flemish Primitives. Closes for renovation on 11 January 2027. Read the guide https://www.chocolatehotel.be/en/bruges/groeninge-museum - Museums ### Gruuthuse Museum The palace of Louis of Gruuthuse: 500 years of Bruges in tapestries, lace and stained glass. Read the guide https://www.chocolatehotel.be/en/bruges/gruuthuse-museum - Museums ### Bruges museums: which one for what, and the museum card The Musea Brugge Card, the closing days and which museum suits which visit. Read the guide https://www.chocolatehotel.be/en/bruges/bruges-museums ## On our walk The whole walk (https://www.chocolatehotel.be/en/bruges#walk) 5 Previous stop ### The Church of Our Lady Read the guide https://www.chocolatehotel.be/en/bruges/church-of-our-lady From our sister hotel, The Chocolate Suites One day in Bruges with kids A route for families, with breaks by age. Read on chocolatesuites.be https://www.chocolatesuites.be/en/guide/bruges-with-kids Image: Horse carriages waiting on the Markt in front of the stepped gable houses (https://www.chocolatehotel.be/assets/explore-close-markt-carriages-DvfjOgsq.webp) ## Stay in a house built for Charles the Bold Moerstraat 23, five minutes from the Markt. Book here for €10 less than on Booking.com. Check Availability (https://www.chocolatehotel.be/booking) We use cookies to analyse traffic and improve your experience. Choose whether to accept them — read our cookie policy (https://www.chocolatehotel.be/en/cookies). 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